Just Missed the Train
by Jack E. Peace
Summary: (Can't Hardly Wait) A "what if" fic: what if Amanda had missed Preston at the train station? Please r


Disclaimer: None of the characters belong to me; "Just Missed the Train" belongs to Kelly Clarkson and whoever wrote it.   
  
A/N: A "what if" story I came up with while listening to the Kelly Clarkson song mentioned above; it got me thinking...what if Amanda *had* missed Preston at the train station?   
  
Just Missed the Train   
  
The glowing red dial to the left of her dashboard was descending slowly to the bold white E, reminding Amanda Becket that she had neglected to refuel her car before the graduation party last night. Truthfully, it wasn't on the top of her list but now, it looked like her mistake was going to come back to bite her in the ass and, frankly, the new graduate wondered if she didn't deserve it. If she hadn't been her bitchy self at the party last night, she wouldn't be in this position, separating her gaze between the almost empty gas tank and the clock, with its glowing green digits, reminding her that time was running short. 'How could I have been so stupid?' She questioned, glaring at the clock, then at the E, as though her gaze would will it to become full and time to speed backwards. Why hadn't she noticed Preston Myers, who had been truly in love with her since her first day; she had been too busy giving her attention to Mike Dexter and the popular crowd that she had clamored to be a part of. Well, she had gotten her wish...but now school was over and she could have missed out on the love that would have made her truly happy all along. 'No,' she vowed silently, 'that is not going to happen.' She still had twenty minutes to make it to the train station, to see Preston and tell him that she had finally received his letter.   
  
A dinging sound caused Amanda to take her attention off the road before her and return it to the left dashboard, where the low gas light was flashing impatiently as though she didn't already know that the car was running low. "Not now, come on." She grumbled, glancing around for a gas station. She'd had her car long enough to know that when the low gas light flashed, it really meant that it was about to stall; it had only happened once, right after she had first gotten the car and it was just her luck that it would happen again on the most important morning on her life.   
  
When she had come home last night she had thought about Preston and Mike and everything that she had lost and compromised over the years at her high school. She vaguely remembered sheepishly cute Preston staring at her in the classes they had together, or watching her in the hallway but she had never given him any thought. Guys stared at her all the time, she had been born not to stare back. Now she wished that her breeding had been different, that she was someone different than the untouchable popular girl that guys fawned over; why had she worked so hard to be popular when something much easier had been there all along.   
  
Amanda was thrown forward against her seatbelt as her not so trusty car sputtered, the low gas light still dinging unhappily; the car continue to jerk (jerking her with it) and Amanda swore, directly the dying vehicle to the side of the road. She was sure that it took the remainder of the gas to get it over onto the shoulder, especially when the radio clicked off and the car refused to respond to her attempts to get it moving again. "Oh great, just great." She groaned, resting her forehead against the surface of the steering wheel. There was no way that she was going to get to the train station on time; she hadn't seen a gas station and, though she did carry a spare tire, there was nothing of the gasoline type in the trunk.   
  
Amanda sighed, unbuckling her seat belt, grabbing her cell phone and stepping out of the car; grit was still settling and she blinked it out of her eyes as she glanced around, looking for a building of any kind. When she saw none, she ticked her gaze to the cell phone, rejoicing silently to see that there was still battery. At least one thing about this messed up day was going in her favor. She flicked the over up, punching zero and waiting impatiently for the phone to connect. When it finally did, Amanda instructed the operator the connect her with the closet gas station. Once she had a burly sounding man on the other end of her cell phone, she explained her predicament and instructed him to hurry, glancing at the digital clock on the surface of her phone.  
  
It took the tubby gas station attendant ten minutes to arrive, lugging a large red tub behind him. "This will only take a minute miss." He grumbled, looking her up and down before walking over to fill her gas tank. Amanda rolled her eyes; the man's behavior just accented her earlier point, though she wouldn't allow herself the pleasure of glaring at him as she waited for him to complete his task.   
  
The job that was only supposed to take a minute ended up taking seven when the chubby middle-aged man dropped the half-empty container underneath the car, followed by Amanda searching for a small smidgen of cash to pay the man with. "Miss, if you'd prefer we can go back to the station and I can run your credit car." He offered, popping a stick of gum into his mouth.  
  
Amanda resisted the urge to shudder, wringing her hands as she dug through her glove compartment; the trip to the station would only take longer and she wasn't looking forward to spending anymore time with Ned, the gas station man. "No, I'm sure I have something in here." She called, glancing over at the clock and groaning when she saw that Preston's train was only three minutes from leaving. There was no way that she would make it in time...but there was always the chance that it would get held up right? Trains did that all the time...or was that planes? Amanda uttered a tiny cry of victory as her finger closed around a wrinkled five dollar bill; she tossed it at the man, knowing that it was too much for the overweight deadbeat but at the moment she didn't care. She sped off, leaving Ned in a cloud of dust, clutching his bill, baffled.  
  
'Screw parallel parking.' Amanda thought as she slammed her car into an empty spot in front of the train station, pretending that she didn't hear the angry shouts of the man she had cut off. Despite her high hells, the brunette rushed through the entrance, shoving aside the double doors and bursting into the bustling station. Everywhere people were embracing, bidding farewell to loved ones or welcoming them home. Amanda almost tripped over an old woman's suitcase as she rushed into the building, glancing around frantically for Preston and feeling her heart grow heavier with every beat when she could see him. "Come on, you've still got to be here." She moaned, knowing that she was too late. After everything she had gone through that morning, after everything he had gone through those three years, she was too late.   
  
Clinging to a last sliver of hope, she rushed over to the ticket desk and pushed her way to the front, not bothering to small at the balding man before her. "Has the ten twenty train left?" Amanda asked, pleading that his answer would be no, that she was just in the wrong part of the station.   
  
The old man nodded, still smiling sweetly. "I'm sorry dear, you just missed the train." He told her, oblivious to her agony. The brunette felt her frown deepen, her heart break, as she trudged away from the desk, heading back out the door.   
  
* * *   
  
Five Years Later   
  
For a second, Amanda Becket didn't trust her eyes and, almost comically, had to blink and refocus. But, there was no denying it...Preston Myers was stilling in a red vinyl booth yards away from her own, with a lithe blonde woman and a chubby toddler. He had aged some, that was certain, but five years had done him good and he was more handsome then she remembered. For a second, Amanda debated on rushing over to the booth, greeting him and perhaps confessing her past mistakes. But, she wasn't sure where that would get her; there was no doubt in her mind that the woman across from him was his wife and the toddler was their son. What did she have to gain by going over there? She knew that she had so much to lose.  
  
She stood up, picking up her purse and heading over to the front desk to pay her cheek, making sure her eyes stayed straight ahead. All the painful memories and thoughts of Preston came flooding back to her and she grit her teeth against the flow. Over the past five years she had thought a lot about Preston Myers, knowing that he was out there someone and that she would find him one day because they were meant to be together, she knew it and he knew it. But, obviously, things had changed and there he was, married with a child, with her, a single business major. She had changed a lot since high school, though she knew the changes were for the better and more for herself than her missing love, though she always kept him in mind.   
  
Amanda had almost made it out of the restaurant when she heard someone calling her name, causing her to the turn in the direction of the call. It was Preston, already heading her direction with a smile across her face. "Amanda Beckett, is that really you?" He was asking, though there was no question in his mind that it was her. She looked as beautiful as he remembered, if not more, with her flowing brown hair and killer figure.  
  
She smiled at him, the grin growing wider when he pulled her into a friendly hug. "Wow, Preston, I can't believe it's you." She gushed, still smiling when the embrace was broken.  
  
"Yeah, wow, Amanda you look great." He complimented, his eyes never leaving her face, which was one of the things Amanda had always admired about Preston.   
  
She nodded half-heartedly. "Thanks, you did too." She admitted, unable to keep the joyful smile on her face, knowing that he was going to introduce her to his family any second.   
  
Preston smiled, still radiating goofy innocence, a quality that she couldn't believe that she had never noticed all those years ago. "Amanda, you've got to meet my wife." He said, steering her back toward the table, where the blonde was already smiling at her. "This is Sarah; Sarah this is Amanda, a high school classmate of mine." He introduced, smiling when the two women shook hands.   
  
For a second, Amanda wanted to hate Sarah Myers but found herself unable to; she seemed like a sweet woman, the sort of person she had always longed to be. Preston had found a nice person, someone he was happy with, even if that someone wasn't her. "Nice to meet you." She said, though her words weren't truthful. Most of her still wished that Preston was single and that they had found each other in the cafe, though the meeting was playing out far differently in her head then in reality.   
  
After introductions were made, Preston excused himself to walk Amanda out to her car; once they were standing beside the same car that had let her down that fateful day, her old classmate turned to her. "I waited for you, Amanda, that day at the station. I thought, maybe, just maybe, you would know about me..." He trailed off, clearly feeling foolish.  
  
"I did, Preston, I was trying to get there." She said quickly, wishing that she wasn't living this moment, wishing that she was Mrs. Myers with the loving husband and energetic toddler. But that was never to be; she had to let go of her feverishly dreamed hopes, casting them aside, as hard as it may be. Preston was married now, she was something of the past, a missed chance, an extinguished hope.  
  
For a second, Preston looked hopeful, though the look was quickly over-ridden by curiosity. "You did?" He asked, words still caring the hopeful tone. "What happened?"   
  
Amanda glanced to her left, looking through the plate glass windows of the diner, looking at sweet Sarah, breaking up crackers for the bouncing baby. She wondered if her story would change things, wondered if she even wanted them to be changed. Preston looked happy, she knew he was happy with his wife and child and she didn't want to have anything to do with ending that happiness. A selfish part of her wanted to change things but she wouldn't listen, ignoring the selfish teen still inside of her. Instead, she just shrugged and said, "I guess I just missed the train." 


End file.
